A bow (not to be confused with a dwarven crossbow) is a ranged weapon that fires projectiles called arrows. Bows behave similarly to crossbows for the most part, though they seem to be preferred by elves and goblins.

As ranged weapons, bows use and train the bowman (bowdwarf) skill; as melee weapons bows use and train the swordsman (swordsdwarf) skill instead. Dwarves cannot forge bows nor arrows, limiting supply to artifacts, and whatever low-quality specimens can be traded from elven caravans and scavenged from invaders. Due to their marked similarity to native weapons, your dwarves would likely be better served in battle with high-quality crossbows and bolts than inferior imported bows and arrows. All dwarves can equip bows.